The present invention disclosed herein relates to an energy-harvesting device and a method of forming the energy-harvesting device, and more particularly, to a nano piezoelectric device and a method of forming the nano piezoelectric device.
Piezoelectric devices use the piezoelectric principle to convert deformation induced by physical force to electrical energy. Such a piezoelectric device is configured with piezoelectric material disposed between an upper electrode and a lower electrode. When the piezoelectric material between the two electrodes is physically deformed, e.g. compressed, expanded, or bent, electricity is produced in proportion to the amount of the deformation, and the electricity is discharged through the electrodes, thereby harvesting energy.
Typical thick-film piezoelectric materials have a capacitor structure for using electricity generated in proportion to longitudinal deformation, such as compression and expansion between the surfaces of electrodes parallel to each other. Since the piezoelectric materials (which are in solid state) have a high Young's modulus, they are difficult to deform significantly. Thus, it is necessary to increase the surface area of the piezoelectric materials or stack the piezoelectric materials in a multi-layered structure to increase their electric generating capacity. In this case, an increase in electric generating capacity is accompanied by increases in volume and area of the piezoelectric materials. Thus, typical thick-film piezoelectric materials are difficult to miniaturize, and have low bending tolerance, which limit their practical application.
In recent years, R&D and application of technology using bulk or thick film structures, which is a typical energy-harvesting device technology that employs the piezoelectric effect, have been implemented. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or crystalline lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) (Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3O3-30% PbTiO3) is used as a typical bulk or thick-film material. Although these typical bulk or thick-film materials have excellent piezoelectric characteristics, their future applications are limited by their high sintering temperatures of about 600° C. or more, and because the crystalline material is expensive and contains toxic material such as lead. In addition, these materials have limitations in that they cannot be applied to future portable devices or terminals for ubiquitous services that must be miniaturized and lightweight and to plastic substrates.